GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Common Murre (Uria aalge)

Species Code: URAA

Legend: = Core Habitat = Marginal Habitat

Breeding Range Map
The green area shows the predicted habitats for breeding only. The habitats were
identified using 1991 satellite imagery,
Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), other datasets and experts throughout the state, as part of the Washington Gap Analysis
Project. Habitats used during non-breeding months and migratory rest-stops were not mapped.

This species is locally common on islets of the outer coast from Grays Harbor to Cape Flattery.

Good habitats in the core areas of use included coastal rocky cliffs in the Sitka Spruce zone, limited to known breeding islands.

Washington individuals belong to the North American subspecies U. a. inornata, formerly further subdivided as U.a. californica. The most current population data are based on helicopter surveys. Numbers typically fluctuate annually, based on food supply and climatic events, but have severely declined in recent years. El Nino/Southern Oscillation events and overfishing negatively affect previous four years. Prior to warming events, the number of murres stayed around 3000 until at least 1990. Common Murres have been the most frequent avian victims of oil spills along the Washington coastline.